Tax guns to reflect their true cost to society

On average, more than 31,000 people are shot to death each year in America. That is the equivalent of more than 1,100 Sandy Hook school shootings each year.

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seacoastonline.com

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Posted Dec. 31, 2012 at 2:00 AM

Posted Dec. 31, 2012 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

Dec. 24 — To the Editor:

On average, more than 31,000 people are shot to death each year in America. That is the equivalent of more than 1,100 Sandy Hook school shootings each year. More people are shot to death in 23 months today than the 58,000 American combat deaths of the decade of the Vietnam War. We need to do something to stop this slaughter. Adding more guns is not the answer. It didn't protect Adam Lanza's mother. It didn't protect Greenland's police chief.

When someone is shot there is often the cost of the ambulance to the hospital and the emergency room bill, which has to be paid even if the victim dies. If they live, there are rehabilitation costs. Imagine the parents of the Sandy Hook shooting victims losing their child then getting a large medical bill to add to their pain. If the victim or family cannot pay these bills we do, in higher taxes and higher health insurance rates.

(Whenever there is a shooting), the taxpayers have to pay for a police investigation and autopsies in case of a death. It is time to pass these costs on to gun makers and owners as we do with tobacco.

Banning the sale of semiautomatic weapons and high-capacity weapons, imposing a waiting period, and requiring background checks and preregistration for all sales (including used weapons) and transfers would be a good start, but that would not address the 300 million guns in America today. So let us adopt a strategy similar to the anti-tobacco campaign. Ban the possession of a weapon in the same areas that smoking is banned. Impose high federal taxes on the sale of weapons (new and used) and ammunition. An excise or sales tax of $100 for hunting rifles, $200 for handguns and $2 to $5 per round of ammunition would reduce demand just as high cigarette taxes do. If a parent knows it will cost an additional $200 to $500 to fire off 100 rounds, they will be less likely to give their kids that experience. They might even quit the practice themselves. The taxes could raise money to repay hospitals for treating victims of gunshots and provide funds for victims of gun violence and their families.

To address the weapons already owned, a $20 annual federal fee on hunting rifles, a $50 fee on low-capacity handguns and a $200 fee on all other weapons would make continued ownership of rapid-fire weapons less attractive. Handguns would be charged more than hunting rifles because they are responsible for more suicides, murders and murder-suicides. The fees could also provide funds for gun buyback campaigns, mental health treatment and other social programs to further reduce gun violence. Make the annual fee payable by the last person who registered or sold the weapon. This will take the profit out of selling weapons to people who aren't permitted to own them or don't register them.

These measures will not completely solve our gun problem but, as we have seen with smoking, over time they will reduce the problem and make the cost of guns reflect their cost to society.